520

Abby, you may also find it helpful to read my original post and the thread November/December-17 Days in Northern India; the las post on it was 5/23. Dogster's comments were particularly helpful and fun!! (As from what I've seen, they just about always are!)

dogster

Bless you 520. But I've removed the specific links from the website, tho. I just put them in for you a few weeks ago. The site is clogged up enough already.

520

Hmmm--can't you just put in India in the search menu and previous threads come up? That's what I do....

abby97

So, based on all the incredibly helpful input I've received on this thread, and after having read a bunch of other threads, here's my latest thought:

December 18/19 -- Depart LAX for Delhi; arrive late Sunday, Overnight Delhi Bed and Breakfast
December 20 – Delhi; overnight Delhi B&B
December 21 – Train to Agra; overnight Amarvilas
December 22 – Agra; overnight Amarvilas
December 23 – Drive to Jaipur; overnight Samode Haveli
December 24 – Jaipur; overnight Samode Haveli
December 25 – Drive to Jodhpur; overnight ???
December 26 – Jodhpur; overnight ???
December 27 – Drive to Udaipur; overnight Jagat Niwas
December 28 – Udaipur; overnight Jagat Niwas
December 29 – Udaipur; overnight Jagat Niwas
December 30 – Fly to Varanasi; overnight Palace on the River
December 31 – Varanasi; overnight Palace on the River
January 1 – Varanasi; overnight Palace on the River
January 2 – Fly to Delhi; overnight Delhi B&B
January 3 – fly home

The alternative is to skip Jodphur and add those two nights to some combination of Delhi, Jaipur and/or Varanasi.

Thoughts?

lcuy

This looks like a good trip now, although I think you have one night too many in Varanasi. I'd go back to Delhi a day earlier and have time for shopping and sightseeing. One full day at the beginning would not be enough for me. Over five different trips, I've probably had at least 15 days in Delhi and only duplicated the shopping - Khan Market, Dilli Haat, and Haus khas, and Cottage Industries Emporium.

Nutella

Abby, great minds think alike! Your itinerary looks almost identical to my upcoming trip - same path except I'm attending the Pushkar fair, and some extra nights thrown in here and there.

Lcuy, you made Asi Ghat sound so good I was convinced I'd want to stay a third night! Also to the detriment of Delhi or another night somewhere else. I was hoping that some of the shopping in Delhi (Fabindia, Anokhi, etc) would be duplicated in other cities.

lcuy

Not that Varanasi is bad...I love the city. But I love Delhi as well. So much to see and do, and I find it makes traveling easier if I do my shopping at the end of my trip.. You'll not have time to do much on Jan 2 (doesn't the Varanasi flight get into Delhi about 4?, and even if you are on a night flight on the 3rd, one day is so little time to try and enjoy Delhi's sights. I know you have a day at teh beginning, but i find I need one day to just get oriented in India, so the first day is kkind of a haze.

Just something to think about...You will have a great time either way!

Fabindi and Anokhi store locators:
http://www.anokhi.com/anokhi/our-shops.html
http://fabindia.com/storesfront.asp

Both are at Khan market in Delhi.

thursdaysd

I agree that it's best to shop at the last stop - but I'd pass up shopping for more time in Varanasi. But I'm not a shopper, and I was disappointed with Delhi. The museums and sights were badly maintained, and (with the exception of the Qutb Minar and Baha'i Temple) I was more impressed with the sights elsewhere.

live42day

I would keep three nights in Varanasi too. Like Thursday I did not like Delhi,and did lots of shopping in Jaipur at the markets. The prices were as good or better than Delhi. The only difference was that the shop keepers were much more aggressive in Jaipur than Delhi. If there was one thing I did like about Delhi it was the lack a daisy attitude of the shopkeepers compared to everywhere else. You could look without being overwhelmed with the merchants thowing fifteen scarves around your neck.

That being said, I would still take shopping in Jaipur over missing a day in Varanasi (which had good shopping too).

520

Your itinerary is very close to ours also; it'll be interesting to hear what we both (all four) thought of our experience when we return. Are you doing everything on your own or have you decided to work with an agent--or driver? If agent, did you go with Ajay at Yatrik?

Also JUST realized in reviewing last post by Dogster that it was HIS not YOURS about removing the specific links that I suggested checking out. Too often I read the forum in the wee hours--not always the best time!

The suggestions about saving a day in Delhi at the end for shopping made me wish we had one day more--and then, perhaps, be thankful that we don't!!!
ic

abby97

Thanks so much for all the feedback -- I really appreciate it.

520, I haven't decided yet what to do about agents/drivers. We'll definitely want a car/driver, but I don't think we'll want/need a guide, per se. And although I feel comfortable booking hotels online, I'm curious if someone like Ajay can get us better deals on hotels. When we went to Egypt, having our guide book the accommodations was A LOT cheaper than doing it ourselves, but I don't think we'll want someone accompanying us 24/7 the way we did it in Egypt (we hired a private guide).

Thoughts on this?

Craig

The itinerary looks good. I too would opt for more time in Delhi where we thought the shopping was far better than anywhere else (just depends what you like to shop for). It seems like you have almost no time in Delhi at all and, even without shopping there is a lot to see.

As for guides, I'd give 'em a pass if you feel comfortable not using them. In India they are often more trouble than they are worth.

520

Ajay did get us better deals than what was posted on the various hotels websites; we're not going to have anyone w/us 24/7. We have a driver and what looks like a balance of local guides and free time everyplace we stop.

The only other time we've traveled with a driver and guide was in Vietnam/Cambodia and we did it much the same way, but and also didn't have a guide the entire time we were in HCMC as it was really unnecessary.

You probably need to work out the way you want to travel with whoever you decide to go with.

abby97

Thanks so much for the feedback! 520, it sounds like there's a lot of flexibility with Ajay/Yatrik, so we'll probably go with that, and I'll make sure to tell him we wants lots of flexibility/free time.

Still pondering how to get additional time in Delhi. I'd love to just add an extra day to the trip, but I already snuck an extra day/night in there, and unfortunately, we really can't miss additional work.

Nutella

Abby, are you flying home on Jan 3rd, or the 4th after midnight? If the latter, it looks like you have the entire day of the 3rd in Delhi to spend all those leftover rupees

abby97

Excellent point, Nutella! I haven't booked a flight yet, but the flight I will most likely book leaves Delhi at 12:55 am on the 4th.

abby97

I contacted Ajay from Yatrik and heard back from him almost immediately! I had told him where we wanted to visit and the number of nights we wanted to spend in each place, as well as the hotels I had researched. The only place he suggested different hotels was Delhi -- he suggested either BNineteen Guest House or Svelte Personal Suites. Is anyone familiar with either of these? They both have good reviews on Tripadvisor, and BNineteen is mentioned in Lonely Planet and a couple of other guides. Svelte looks a little impersonal for us, but I like the look of BNineteen.

Anyway, he also re-ordered the itinerary and suggested the following:

Arrive 12/19 - overnight Delhi
12/20 - Tour Delhi
12/21 - Fly to Varanasi (Rashmi Guest House)
12/22 - Varanasi
12/23 - Varanasi
12/24 - Fly to Delhi, overnight Delhi
12/25 - Drive to Agra (Amarvilas)
12/26 - Agra
12/27 - Drive to Jaipur (Samode Haveli), visit Fatehpur Sikri en route
12/28 - Jaipur
12/29 - Drive to Jodphur (Ratan Vilas)
12/30 - Jodhpur
12/31 - Drive to Udaipur (Jagat Niwas), visit Ranakpur en route
1/1 - Udaipur
1/2 - Udaipur
1/3 - Fly to Delhi, depart after midnight for US

What do you all think about this itinerary as opposed to the one I had come up with? With my itinerary, I had us flying from Udaipur to Varanasi with a connection in Delhi, which I didn't particularly care for (it took nearly the whole day). This itinerary avoids that, but has us flying from Udaipur to Delhi on the day of departure, which makes me a little nervous.

Otherwise, I'm pleased with the itinerary from Ajay/Yatrik. It includes some interesting activities such as dinner with an Indian family in Delhi, visiting a musician in Varanasi, taking a jeep safari in Jodhpur to the Bishnoi Villages, and dinner at Devi Garh fortress near Udaipur. For those who have dones activities like this with Yatrik or another guide/company, what did you think? Were they fun and worthwhile or hopelessly touristy -- or maybe both?

I'm still on the fence about going this direction vs. just hiring a car and driver (Ramesh Meena). So many choices!

520

Hi Abby,
Your experience with Ajay/Yatrik is thus far very similar to mine--and, as you know, our itineraries are very similar. Too bad our trip is so close in time to yours, so that I won't be able to report back on my experience in time to be of any real value. I based my choice of Ajay on the many excellent reports on him and Yatrik from Fodorites. And yes, there were also a number of very good reports on Ramesh Meena,and seriously considered contacting him, also. By the time I contacted Ajay, however, I had spoken to several agents here, who I wasn't impressed by, while Ajay, as with you, responded immediately, had thoughtful and interesting suggestions, so I decided not to make myself crazy by continuing the search.

He has proposed many of the same activities for our trip (not surprising as we are going to the same destinations) and I just figure if we decide to opt out of some during the trip, we will. From what I've read on reports here, dinner at Devi Garh is quite special, some OPs here thought dinner with an Indian family would be a complete ripoff, while I think it could be interesting...a personal decision; we've left the visit to the Bishnoi Villages open because we don't have that much time in Jodhpur; etc.

We're flying from Varanesi to Delhi the day of our departure which is a little nervous-making, but our Varanesi flight is scheduled to arrive in Delhi at 4:00 p.m. and our U.S. departure flight is at 3:30 a.m., so I think we're all right...How much time do you have between your arrival from Udaipur and your U.S. departure?

We've travelled quite a bit, always independently, except in 2004 when we went to Vietnam and Cambodia and did this kind of very planned trip through an agency with a car and driver. There were parts that were wonderful, and some parts that we decided we preferred to be on our own, and made adjustments during the trip with no problem.

I don't know if you've read any of the other trip reports by those who used Ajay/Yatrik, but it may help you to make your decision.

Look forward to hearing what it is.

abby97

Thanks for the feedback! Given the high level of flexibility Ajay/Yatrik has offered (letting us pick our own hotels, giving us time on our own, etc . . .) combined with his responsiveness, we'll almost certainly go with Ajay/Yatrik.

In terms of the itinerary he provided vs. the rough itinerary I came up with, it seems that the only real difference is when we go to Varanasi, except for one other notable difference -- The full moon is December 21, 2010. Under my itinerary, that would have been our first night in Agra, and I understand that you can visit the Taj at night during the full moon. For those that have done this, what did you think? This could tip the balance in favor of my itinerary.

Thanks everyone for all of the help! I know that this is an incredibly boring itinerary for all of you that have been to India several times, so I appreciate you bearing with me and providing advice to yet another India novice. And 520, I really appreciate your help and suggestions. It's nice to be planning such a similar trip over the same general timeframe . . .

520

Glad to hear you're almost there re: trip planning--decision re: Ajay/Yatrik. It is amazing, isn't it, how long it takes to get it all in place (even on a "boring itinerary" such as we're both doing--). I, too, have read about seeing the full moon at the Taj as being quite extraordinary--but don't know anyone who's been able to do it...and don't remember how much of a difference it would make in your full itinerary if you do Agra first.

Rashmi Guest House sounds very nice--did fleetingly consider switching to it for our one night on the river, but so far haven't done anything aboutit.

Too bad we're not going to overlap; it'd be fun to try to meet up.

And, re: our "boring itinerary.." I kind of think of it like a first time visitor to the U.S. visiting/driving to Boston, NYC, Washington D.C., Miami, and flying to Chicago....it's hardly the U.S., it would, however, give a sense of the Eastern U.S. and a bit of the midwest, and wouldn't be boring at all. But, of course, there's SO much more to see--and the West is like a very very different country....to be seen on another trip....

One can't do it all (at least with the limitations of time we have) on a first trip...and having decided to limit ourselves to Northern India.

So here's to a great trip for us all.